This Week in Rattlers Soccer
Thursday, Sept. 5 • Texas A&M International vs. Westminster • 5 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 6 • Lynn at St. Mary's • 5 p..m.
Saturday, Sept. 7 • Westminster at St. Mary's • 5 p.m.
Kicking Things Off: The 2024 season starts with three straight days of matches at Sigma Beta Chi field. Westminster and Texas A&M International play a neutral site match on Thursday, while the Rattlers host Lynn on Friday and Westminster on Saturday. All three matches will begin at 5 p.m.
Opponent History: This will be the first-ever meeting between the Rattlers and Lynn, while the match against Westminster is a rematch from last year's scoreless draw in Utah.
Picked Second: St. Mary's was selected to finish in second place in the annual LSC Preseason poll, trailing favorite DBU, which was picked to win a fifth-straight title. The Rattlers totaled 519 points, behind the 587 for the Patriots. StMU returns seven starters off last season's NCAA team, including Sydney Varela, an All-Region selection by D2SIDA and All-American Shelby Paniagua.
By the Numbers: Shelby Paniagua put up fantastic numbers last season en route to earning Second Team All-American honors. The then-sophomore tied for third in StMU history with 12 assists, finished fifth with 30 points and tied for third all-time with four game-winning goals. Paniagua is the first All-American in the NCAA period, and the first since Rachel Major was a third-team pick in 1998 when the Rattlers were part of the NAIA.
ReWriting the Books: After only two seasons, Shelby Paniagua already is tied for seventh in school history with 14 assists, while Sydney Varela is eighth with 117 shots. Senior GK Rebecca Difronzo is third in the StMU annals with a 1.07 career goals against average, third in saves with 225 and owns the career records for shutouts (16) and minutes played (5241).
Season Openers: St. Mary's is 19-12-2 all-time in season openers and 2-2 since Kevin Driggs took over as head coach. The Rattlers have won each of the last two openers - a 4-0 win over Southern Nazarene in 2022 and a 5-0 victory in 2023 against East Central.
Getting the Early Start: St. Mary's is 24-2-1 under Head Coach Kevin Driggs when they have the lead at halftime. The team is also 35-3-4 in games where they score first over the last four seasons since Driggs took the reins.Â
Returning to the Pitch: The Rattlers return seven starters and 16 players off last season's team that finished 11-6-5 and played for the Lone Star Conference Tournament title. Those 16 players accounted for 33 of the team's 42 goals (78.6%), 21 of the 33 assists (63.6%) and all 79 of the team's saves. Rebecca Difronzo (GK), Valerie Hover (D), Shelby Paniagua (MF) and Abigail Wilson (D) are the four returners who started all 22 games in 2023.
Next Up: The Rattlers head to Colorado for a rematch of the 2023 NCAA First Round against UCCS on Thursday before traveling to Denver on Saturday to play Regis for the first time since 2006. StMU is 0-1-1 all-time against both UCCS and Regis. This will be the first meeting in Colorado Springs and the second time the Rattlers have played at Regis (0-1).
